


Leigh Hill

by blackjackcat



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-21 20:08:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17049752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackjackcat/pseuds/blackjackcat
Summary: Locally on Earth there is a hill that, despite the seasons, promises to be a challenge. Even to Gundam pilots.





	1. 300 West

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lil_1337](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lil_1337/gifts).



> merula31 challenged me to write this one summer. Based on real life events.  
> Content: Language.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Biking can be hell.

**“This is freaking ridiculous,” Glaring at the street leading almost straight up before them, Duo had both feet planted on either side of his bike, pulled over and straddling it in the middle of the sidewalk.**

**“Hn..which part exactly?”**

  
**“This part Heero!” Duo shook out the map he had been holding, flipping it over and fighting the wind briefly to get to the exact section he wanted, “It says we’re supposed to go to Sage then Ridge but we just passed Ridge right back there!”**

**Having seen the sign, Heero simply nodded. Being unfamiliar with this town as well there was little more he could say.**

**“I am not biking all the way up that damn thing when the road we need is right there! It has to hit University because that is what the map says.”**

**“But it also told us to go from Sage to Ridge, when Ridge is clearly behind us.”**

**Duo made a frustrated noise and turned his bike on the sidewalk without bothering to dismount, “I’m not going up that thing. We’ve only been biking five minutes and my ass is starting to hurt. Who’s idea was it to make mountain bike seats this narrow and hard?”**

**“Well..” Heero had turned his bike as well, and was now facing downhill like Duo. He followed in pushing off as he answered, “I think it has something to do with air flow and-”**

**Duo’s shout was loud enough to be heard against the wind as they headed back downhill and turned onto the debated road, “I’ve sat on rocks that are softer!”**

**“Perhaps we should turn back and go home along the freeway?”**

**“Oh no we don’t!” Riding side by side now they were passing through a clearly rich neighborhood that seemed to enjoy the theme of red rock, desert bushes and not entirely finished yards. Apparently this stretch of town was still a bit in development, which made sense.**

**Duo had noted it on their way walking here, that because they had passed by a bunch of old shops and then walked along a decent stretch of highway, he had bet this part of the town was where the ‘rich bitches’ lived. And so far this neighborhood seemed to be proving him more than right.**

**Following Ridge they rode in silence for a while, side by side and enjoying the view of the town and more mountains below them. This road had been adeptly named, the view making the price of the houses clear and more than reasonable to the ones who lived here.**

**It was the next turn that brought back Duo’s voice. Heero saw it too thanks to his habit of checking their signs and direction, and he knew it would irk his partner.**

**Turning into their street on the left was Sage; the complete opposite of what the map had detailed. It was enough to get a bit of a growl from Duo, “I’m going to pretend I did not just see that.”**

**Just nodding in agreement, Heero followed Duo down what was apparently now, the other side of the mountain. For the next fifteen to twenty minutes the two rode in complete silence, focusing on the steep slope and the sharp turns the road was taking. Both were silently grateful for the width of the road as it allowed cars to pass them without any trouble. He supposed that was another thing to be grateful about them being lost in this area; wide roads made turning and avoiding a crash even easier.**

**Especially when a truck drove by them, the noise and the two waving inside enough of a distraction that Duo and Heero had to brake pretty hard in order to take the next quick turn.**

**The rest of the ride down was pretty enjoyable and even Heero found himself standing a bit on the pedals and enjoying the wind. Coasting to a smooth stop at the bottom of the hill changed from a pleasant feeling of success to one of mild trepidation when he saw the look on Duo’s face.**

**He was a little surprised that the map was still in one piece and didn’t have any holes in it.**

**“There is no..Center.”**

**“What?” Looking up at the sign, Heero did indeed see the white letters there declaring nothing more than ‘Center’. No road, no drive, no etc.**

**“This isn’t even on the damn map! It shows the road turning but there is nothing saying ‘Center’ that breaks away into the freeway like this!” Raising a tense finger he pointed at the weedy overpass that clearly led back the exact way they had come, before pointing at a blue sign in the distance, ‘And that says I-15! Which is still going to the freeway!”**

**Heero watched Duo steam over and glare at the map a good five minutes before it was folded crisply back up and tucked away in one of their bags, “Screw it. We’re going this way. There should at least be a sign and we can always backtrack.”**

**“And you would like to avoid another hill.”**

**“So my ass hurts. Sue me!” And then Duo was biking across four empty lanes, heading for the distant blue freeway sign.**

**Heero followed him quietly, stopping up just short behind him as Duo abruptly pulled over in the shadows of an old church parking lot, “It says College.”**

**Pulling out the map Heero watched as he studied it intently another good five minutes before folding it and putting it away again, “It’s not on there. But it stands to reason that College means the University. So it should connect at some point. And it also says 1250 West. As long as the numbers aren’t going higher, we’re going the right way.”**

**And he was off again, Heero following quietly behind Duo, just able to hear the muttered, “I knew I should have bought that damn compass.”**

**As it turned out, College did not come to the University at all, but took them back to 200 North which took another good ten minutes to find on the map. This led them past Exit 59, a major point they had passed on their way to the store in the first place.**

**The good news about 200 North was that to the left of them, the West streets were starting to count down from 1100 to 900 to 800..**

**It was at 800 that Duo pulled over with a groan, “Gods my ass hurts.. Forget riding for a while, I’m just going to walk until we get to my mark street.”**

**Pulling over as well, Heero stepped up onto the sidewalk with him, “Your mark street?”**

**Duo nodded, already walking down the crumbly sidewalk that was a hopeful note to them that they were heading back into the older point of town, and hopefully, in the right direction.**

**“Once we get there I’ll be able to get us home.” Heero hid a smile as he heard Duo muttering under his breath about grid systems, half-half chances, and the regrettable but sometimes singular option of doubling back.**

**As it turned out, when they did finally come upon Duo’s declared mark street, they were both very pleased to see the same exact University sign they had passed earlier marking their clear direction as left without any need for the map at all.**

**From then on out it was a clear ride by student housing and old buildings, over the overgrown railroad, past the feed shop, a dirt road, and over the wood bridge they had crossed that morning to get to the street.**

**Back on the bike trail bordering the creek behind their neighborhood, Heero smirked as Duo sped up in front of him, taking each turn faster than he had on the mountain. Zipping by other bikers and aerobic walkers, the two soon passed under another small but concrete bridge marking the turn up into their main street.**

**There it was not even a minute ride before they had pulled up in front of home, and Duo was hopping quickly off the bike with a groan, “Shit my ass hurts..”**

**About to open his mouth to suggest a bath, Heero stopped. They were currently in the middle of a mild renovation thanks to some broken down toilet guts that left their wonderfully large and inviting master bedroom tub currently filled with two toilets from the upstairs. He kind of regretted giving the workers permission to put the toilets in there now to save space.**

**Duo groaned as he unlocked the door and carried their groceries in first, “And all I wanted was a bath…”**

**“Well,” Carrying his own share and bike in, Heero set them both down in the hall, shutting the door behind him with his foot, “There are other things we could do.”**

**Having just kicked the stand Duo turned to his partner with clasped hands and bright eyes, “Do you know how much I love you?”**


	2. Center Street

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On their way to join the other pilots for Christmas, Trowa and Quatre take a small detour, that turns out to not be so small after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for 121212 Day! Gift fic for lil_1337.  
> Content: Language.

Trowa blinked as Quatre turned left.

He opened his mouth to say something but was immediately cut off by his lover, “We have a few minutes. I want to see this hill Duo told me about.”

“Didn't he say that it was a mountain?”

“He and Heero were on bikes,” Quatre took another left and started up the hill, leaving shopping stores behind. “It can’t be that bad.”

Thirty minutes later, they had their answer.

“Holy Hail Mary Quatre! Watch that corner!”

“I’m trying! I’m trying!” Quatre was taking another hard right, still lost in the maze that was the mountain. The right was made hard by the design of the street alone, unaffected by the fact that Quatre himself wasn’t driving more than 20 mph.

“Allah! Whoever design this place was  _insane_. They call this suburbia?”

Bracing himself in his seat Trowa grimaced, “Perhaps the people who live here can afford to burn this kind of gas.”

Taking another sharp turn again, that gave them a spectacular view of a forty foot drop Quatre growled, speaking again only once the car had straightened out, “I suppose it is a good added security feature. It would be hard for anyone-” He took another sharp left that curved back and forth for a good five minutes before straightening out again, “To find where you lived.”

“Agreed,” Trowa himself was eager to distract Quatre from this concept since his love had been debating settling somewhere local in order to be closer to the guys. “Try that right. It looks familiar.”

What looked familiar was indeed, but somehow still the design of the mountain had them driving in circles and passing the same point three times before Quatre took a lucky left and finally seemed to be heading down the mountain. By this time it was starting to get dark and both former pilots were getting nervous.

“Think we can make it off here before it gets pitch black?”

“I certainly hope so.” Asking for directions hadn’t worked. There was absolutely no one out on the street that they could see. What people they had seen had only been kids and Trowa agreed with Quatre that it was best not to stop and ask them for directions.

Both pilots were starting to feel unusually unwelcome even with the lack of pedestrians.

“They probably think we’re scouting houses.”

“An unfamiliar jeep driving by again and again?”

“Yup, they’re probably watching us from their houses.”

“I guess bikers look friendlier. Duo said there were locals cheering them on when they went down that one spot.”

That one spot that had inspired this sojourn in the first place, and was still yet to be found. By this time the sky outside was a pitch black distinctive of winter, and they were very late. Texting or calling was out of the question since the signal on their phones was just as spotty as their apparent chance of getting off the mountain, as was the fact that both passengers had their attention dead set on getting free of this maze alive.

Quatre had finally taken Trowa’s desperate suggestion that they try to head back the way they had come, hoping to find the road they knew would eventually lead them back to main street.

It was a chance right turn that saved them.

In the dark of a street lit only by house lights and decorative lanterns, because apparently this hill was too classy for the standard street light, Trowa and Quatre both saw the road widen and stretch out, running forward before them like a river on its last glorious stretch to the sea.

Coming to a stop at the end of the road, both looked about by the one sputtering street lamp on the corner, their hope that they had left behind that maze darkened suburbia, in order to try and see a sign.

“Center Street!” Trowa  jumped at Quatre’s outburst, then leaned over to see himself.

Too small to be considered a decent street sign there was however, a small strip of green metal emblazoned with those two welcome words: Center Street.

Underneath those letters was a small bunch of numbers and a single directive letter.

“1100 W.”

“Didn’t Duo say they live on 500 West?”

Quatre nodded and took the left, “Shouldn’t be long then.”

It wasn’t. In fact the pair made it to their friends’ home in less than three minutes.

“They  _can’t_  have been that close.”

Parked out front of the house, both Trowa and Quatre were both too stunned for the moment to go inside.

Idling with the engine on however eventually drew attention and Duo came out, joining them at the car. He leaned on Quatre’s open window, “You guys are  _late._  What happened? Get lost?”

Quatre’s only still stunned argument was six little words, “It is  _not_  a grid system.”

“I don’t know,” Duo shrugged, “After a while you start to see their point.”

“No,” This statement seemed to shake the maze experience from Quatre a little bit and he got out, Trowa following. As the trio went back inside to where Heero was waiting, Quatre explained their absence.

“I had no  _idea._  We never even made it to the slope you were talking about.”

Trowa interjected, “Though I’m pretty sure we were all on the same side.”

“There’s a scary thought.”

Duo’s last statement was followed by a collective silence as everyone sat relieved in the living room, reliving their own experience.

“What on Earth are you four doing?” The sudden appearance of Wu Fei’s voice made them all jump a bit. “Quatre’s car door was open and your front door was unlocked.”

Bemused the four still sitting shared looks.

Getting no answer Wu Fei shrugged, “I ran into Sally on my way over.” He caught Duo’s eye, “You said you wanted all of us to go see lights for the holiday?”

Enthused by this Duo nodded, “You found some?”

“Yes, on Leigh Hill.”

“Leigh Hill? Where’s that?”

Wu Fei pointed due east, the direction from which Trowa and Quatre had just come, “You know, that hill near the edge of town.” The Asian blinked as his news was met by a collective groan, “What? Sally said they were the best in the city.”

“Well…” Duo’s smile was a bit mischievous, “Then I suppose we’ll all go. Promise Fei?”


	3. Veterans Highway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not every map is correct.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for akira_1x2's 8th Gundam Wing Advent Calendar.  
> Content: Severe irritation.

**Noin watched Sally talking to Duo with slightly morbid curiosity. Whatever they were discussing had the pair of them both quite animated. If she didn’t know that Duo and Sally had been out of the field for over three months now she would have thought that they were discussing the escapades of a case. There was a lot of wild gesturing and expressions going on over there. What on earth were the two of them doing?**   


****After a moment Sally told Duo her farewell and headed over to Noin where she took a seat, tray still full. She’d been balancing it with one hand while talking to Duo and Noin was surprised that between the two of them, the tray hadn’t been dumped onto the floor already.** **

 

****“Hey.” Noin greeted her kindly, “What’s up with you two? Have some rough field work coming up Sally?” Perhaps it was a new mission?** **

 

****“It might be.”** **

 

****Noin raised a brow and Sally laughed, “Remember how Wu Fei wanted to go up to Leigh Hill to see the lights?”** **

 

****Noin nodded. She’d never been but had heard a lot of talk about it lately, “Supposedly they have the best lights in the city.”** **

 

****“Well, we planned to go with Duo and the rest but after everyone’s reactions it made Wu Fei curious-”** **

 

****“Suspicious you mean.”** **

 

****“Curious was his word.” Sally corrected, spearing a few carrots and peas.** **

 

****Noin grinned. “Okay and?”** **

 

****“So he went up to Leigh Hill with me last night.”** **

 

****Noin grinned, “For some recon?”** **

 

****Sally nodded,  “Exactly. Though we never made it to the lights.”** **

 

****Noin blinked, then gave Sally a sly smile, “Did you both..”** **

 

****Sally laughed, “You think he would let me? No. We took a left turn.” Sally started cutting up her meat as if that explained everything.** **

 

****Noin waited a moment longer before asking, “A left turn?”** **

 

****Taking a bite Sally nodded, chewed and swallowed before answering, “Well you see, when you turn off Center Street by the overpass you can either take a right or left turn. We went left and somehow ended up on the backstreets of Leigh Hill. The road curved all over the place. It was pitch black before we found a way out of there.”** **

 

****“They didn’t have any lights?” Noin asked, surprised.** **

 

****“Oh they had lights. House lights. No one had their decorations up on that side of the hill though, apparently.”** **

 

****“That sounds uneasy.”** **

 

****“Oh it was, it reminded Wu Fei of training.”** **

 

****Noin smothered a laugh with her hand unsure if she should show her amusement. Dark roads reminded her of similar things. “So where did you end up if they didn’t any lights on that side of Leigh Hill?”** **

 

****“The new shopping plaza at the end of Main Street.”** **

 

****Noin blinked, “Off Veterans Highway? Wow, it was that far?” She’d have to consult a map. She had thought that Leigh Hill was on the outside of town, not the middle where Leigh Hill was rumoured to be.** **

 

****Sally nodded, “And of course, you know Wu Fei.” She shook her head but smiled warmly. “He came to see lights and find a good drive for all of us.”** **

 

****Noin blanched, “He didn’t go back.”** **

 

****Sally nodded, “Of course he did. Just turned right around and went back in while consulting the map.”** **

 

****Noin nodded, “Well, Wu Fei is good with maps.”** **

 

****“He was correcting this one the whole time he was driving.”** **

 

****That didn’t sound like Wu Fei. Multitasking while driving. Noin blinked in surprise over her cooling coffee.** **

 

****“We had to pull over every few minutes for him to adjust the map.”** **

 

****Noin laughed, “He adjusted the map?”** **

 

****“Apparently Center Street doesn’t even exist on the map we had. Wu Fei edited it the whole way back to Main Street. At one point Center Street just vanishes and then comes out again.” Duo had just confided in her that Trowa and Quatre had experienced the same thing earlier that month. “Plus, you know how this town is. Every street has at least two names, sometimes three.”** **

 

****Noin made an agreeable sound. It was definitely not something any of them had expected when they had transferred to Earth from the colonies. Many of them were still adjusting. “Still crazy.”** **

 

****Sally nodded, “Wu Fei was so frustrated when we got home that he called the city.”** **

 

****“Were they open that late at night?”** **

 

****“No, but he has a meeting today with them to discuss the content of their city maps.”** **

 

****“Hmn. I almost feel pity.” Noin grinned at Sally who laughed.** **

 

****“Well, if Wu Fei has anything to say about it, I expect to have an updated map within the month.”** **

 

****“A year at least, considering the holdiays are coming up.” Noin agreed. She took a sip of her coffee and then blinked, “What about Duo? How does he fit into all of this?”** **

 

****“Well, while Wu Fei was arranging meetings-”** **

 

****“Ranting.” Noin interjected.** **

 

****“His word.” Sally grinned and then continued talking, “I called Duo to ask why they had all hesitated to go to Leigh Hill for the lights in the first place.”** **

 

****“And?” Noin was intrigued as to the reason why all four ex-gundam pilots, known and respected Preventers currently, would want to avoid a hill so desperately.** **

 

****“Duo told me that he and Heero got lost there.”** **

 

****“That’s not so bad.”** **

 

****“On bikes. It took them a couple hours to get home instead of their regular twenty minutes.”** **

 

****“Still-”** **

 

****“Leigh Hill is actually a hill stacked upon a hill with a few cliffs and sudden drops thrown in.”** **

 

****Noin blinked, forgetting her coffee. “Sounds like an ideal place for intensive hiking.”** **

 

****“It’s also the reason why Quatre and Trowa don’t wish to go back.”** **

 

****“They went hiking there?”** **

 

****“No. Driving. Apparently wherever Wu Fei and I were on the mildest side of the Leigh Hill. Duo doesn’t see how anyone can live there. Though he did say that Heero agrees with Quatre’s observation that the hill itself is good security. It’s practically impossible to find your way out of there.”** **

 

****“Oh no.” Noin could see where this was going. “They’re going to use this to train the new rookies aren’t they?”** **

 

****It had been the office talk for a while now; what to do to train the new recruits that could fit into the holidays and still support the community. No one had been able to think of anything.** **

 

****“Yuy’s no planning to just dump them in there again with no equipment or information, is he?”** **

 

****“It is good training to think on your feet in case of bad information.”** **

 

****“True,” Noin agreed.** **

 

****Sally took another sip of her tea, “Duo said he’s thinking of starting a pool.”** **

 

****“Which rookie will get down from the hill first?”** **

 

****“50-1 odds against Embercy.” Sally had placed her own bet before Duo took his leave. Just in case a pool was truly started. She could use the extra Christmas money.** **

 

****Noin smiled, “So is Wu Fei still going with you and the rest to see the lights? Maybe keep half an eye on the rookies?”** **

 

****Sally laughed and shook her head, “He said not this year. Not until he fixes the map with the city. As a reward for arranging everything, he and the rest of our boys are excused from supervising. I think they’re planning on staying home and watching a movie.”** **

 

****“How’d they manage to get permission for that?” She didn’t see..** **

 

****“Une is going to join them. She doesn’t want to spend her holiday freezing and babysitting rookies either it seems.”** **

 

****Noin laughed with Sally, “There’s always next year for lights, right?”** **

 

****Sally chuckled, “I suppose we’ll see.”** **


	4. West Black Hill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes even airports can be miscommunicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gift fic for lil_1337.  
> Content: Bad maps.

**“Are you sure this is the right way Tro?”**

 

****Glancing aside at Quatre, Trowa nodded and pulled through the intersection. “It is what the map says.”** **

  
****Quatre grinned at the smile that slipped over his love’s face. He knew they were both thinking of Wu Fei and his map objective. The previous year, in an attempt to see the lights, Wu Fei had discovered that the maps provided by the city were not at all accurate and he had sought to correct them. It had been a rather successful endeavor, but that success didn’t seem to have reached beyond their own city.** **   
  


****Setting the map down on the dash, Quatre watched as the top of the cliff they were driving up came into view. While there was plenty of flat surface he didn’t see anything other than that that looked remotely like an airport. He couldn’t imagine airplanes taking off this close to the main city.** **

 

****Unlike their current home, St. George was large and sprawling close to metropolitan. Quatre came out of his thoughts as Trowa pulled to a stop and parked.** **

 

****“This is a FedEx store.”** **

 

****Trowa nodded and got out, heading inside to, presumably, ask for correct directions to the airport.** **

 

****Quatre sighed and folded up the now useless map he’d tossed onto the dashboard. It had at least gotten them to the city to meet Cathy’s plane. Her first flight had been canceled, and while that was a near disaster, it had been averted when another seat had opened up on a flight to the nearby city.** **

 

****It meant an hours drive and while he and Trowa had been more than willing to get her, they had also left for the airport three hours early since neither of them had ever been to the St. George airport. Leaving early was starting to look more and more like a wise decision.** **

 

****The car door opened and Quatre looked up as Trowa rejoined him, a piece of torn paper in hand. It looked like someone had given them accurate directions.** **

 

****“The airport has not been here for a year.”** **

 

****Quatre stared, appalled. The map they had just bought this morning was promised to be for the current year, as well as the next.** **

 

****As Trowa started the car Quatre sat up. He had been slouching while waiting. Despite the winter season it was rather warm today. As Trowa headed back down the cliff, Quatre had an incredible view of the city. He could imagine how it must look at night, all those lights sprawled out over the desert floor.** **

 

****“So where is the airport now?” On the way into the city he hadn’t seen anything that suggested an airport anywhere near.** **

 

****“An hour outside the city.”** **

 

****Quatre raised a brow as Trowa took another left turn, “I suppose it’s so good we left early.” He settled into silence then and let Trowa drive, watching as the city gave way to the desert again.** **

 

****Here, nearly everything was red, the presence of iron oxide making the endless plateau's they were driving through striking in the light of the setting sun. It made Quatre miss home where the sands were just as vast as the rock formations here.** **

 

****The longer they drove, the less there was to see though, as the horizon stretched endlessly before them. He smiled as Duo’s voice came to mind, “This really is out in the middle of nowhere. The Boonies.”** **

 

****Mild amusement drifted into Trowa’s voice, “Boonies?”** **

 

****Quatre turned away from the window to grin at him, “Boondocks. It’s what Duo would call this.” He gestured at the vast desert landscape all around them.** **

 

****Trowa glanced at Quatre with a smile, “He would.”** **

 

****“If we break down out here there’s no one around to help.” Nearly thirty minutes ago they had ceased to even see road signs. For all they knew, they had taken the wrong turn nearly an hour ago. Hopefully the directions were still right, even if the man who had given them did not have a correct sense of time.** **

 

****Another twenty minutes later rewarded them with not only another road sign, but a passing motorcyclist. Quatre and Trowa felt the enjoyable sense of company for another twenty minutes before the biker turned off and left them once again, alone in the desert.** **

 

****Just when even Trowa was starting to wonder if he should double back, Quatre sat up straight excitedly and pointed. A plane was starting its descent ahead. Following the path of its direction was no good since massive cliffs of red stone were rising around them.** **

 

****Another mile of following the road and they were able to see the runway stretching out before them.** **

****Quatre checked his watch. “Cathy’s plane should be arriving.”** **

 

****“That was probably the one we just saw.”** **

 

****Quatre nodded and checked the plane’s status on his phone. “It says they’re disembarking.”** **

 

****“Good.” Trowa smiled as they pulled into the parking lot. “I’ll text her that we’re just outside.”** **

 

****For such a deserted place, there was a surprising number of cars in the parking lot. They too seemed to have left early and upon seeing the discarded map, Quatre chuckled softly, “We probably shouldn’t mention this to Wu Fei..”** **

 

****Trowa looked at Quatre, amusement clear in his one visible eye,” As you wish.”** **

 

****It took little effort to get Cathy to agree to their discretion during the two hour drive home once she joined them. Just as amused as the other two, and wanting to avoid ranting during the season as well, she amiably agreed to stop at their local store to return the map.** **

 

****After all, Quatre had kept the receipt. He’d just had a feeling they were going to need it.** **


	5. Knoll Street

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After several incidents and a few years, the pilots finally conquer Leigh Hill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gift fic for lil_1337. Wu Fei point of view.  
> Content: Bad maps.

**Duo’s driving.**

 

**I don’t know how he ended up in that position when it is Trowa’s car, but he seems to handle driving as a civilian better than he handles driving on a mission.**

  
**After Cathy left, the five of us ended up together for dinner. Duo still wanted to see the lights, and though none of us seemed to have Leigh Hill in mind when we left earlier tonight, it still came up.**   
  


**“There are no good lights down here.”**

 

**I watched Quatre lean forward to point out the front of the window. “That one looks pretty.”**

 

**We all turned to look. Someone had set up what looked like a blue spider’s web over their house.**

 

**“Wow..I wonder how they got the lights to do that.”**

 

**“It’s in the ground.”**

 

**Everyone turned to look at Heero who nodded past me towards the window. Taking a second look I could see that he was correct. “Clever. I wonder if we could use that deception during training.”**

 

**Feeling the complete silence I looked up at the other pilots, “What?”**

 

**“We’re on vacation Wu Fei.”**

 

**“Yeah Chang. This is Christmas.”**

 

**I raised a brow at Heero. Even he was lecturing me? About to open my mouth I caught Trowa’s eye and bent my head slightly instead, “I apologize. I suppose I’ve spent too much time lately with the rookies.”**

 

**Duo laughed. “I know that’s right.”**

 

**I heard Quatre sigh, “Do you think perhaps, we could just forget about that tonight?”**

 

**Une had had a sudden influx with staff which meant a lot of rookies, paperwork, and even more training. She was having a merry Christmas indeed.**

 

**“Alright.” The tone of Duo’s voice caught my attention immediately, as did the changed direction of the car. We were leaving the lower parts of the neighborhood. “This is ridiculous guys. Uphill is where there are the best lights. I know it’s dark but we have to do this. If all those rookies could survive so can we. We used to be Gundam pilots.”**

 

**“Um..Duo?” I could hear the hesitation in Quatre’s voice, “You might want to drive a bit more slowly..”**

 

**“I will when we get up there. There are lights up there I’ve wanted to see every year.”**

 

**Glancing at the two sitting beside me I shook my head. While I didn’t think that Leigh Hill was particularly challenging, it seemed that the others had had their own share of trouble with it. Perhaps finally going up there tonight would remove the illusions from their minds. It was best to confront and face things than simply dance around the matter.**

 

**“Look! There’s some lights!”**

 

**Folding my arms I sank into the back seat as the other pilots leaned over or around each other to see. I’d never understood the particular interest in yearly lights, but I did like the idea of traditions with family.**

 

**“Awesome. Now that’s what I’m talking about.”**

 

**I felt the car turn and focused my attention on the lanes as we left the main road and headed deeper into the neighborhoods that had terrorized my friends previously. Somehow Duo found a new road that none of them had ever seen before, but when it ended we had to turn around and pass by the same row of fancy houses that had drawn Duo to the area originally.**

 

**“I wonder which house has that light.”**

 

**Looking over at Quatre startled me. He was practically in Trowa’s lap, leaning out the window in order to see. Even after knowing they had been lovers for years, their display of affection was still surprising to see. Less with Quatre and more so with Barton..**

 

**Trowa caught me looking and smiled, nodding my way before he answered Quatre, who was still leaning over him, trying to see. “I think it’s higher up the mountain.”**

 

**“I wish we could find it. Hey Heero, think we should try?”**

 

**Before Yuy could even answer Duo continued, “I have to admit that these lights are kind of..boring. For such rich houses I’d think they would have something..better.”**

 

**“I think that’s a good idea.” Quatre was back in his seat.**

 

**“Alright! Ready for a mission Fei?”**

 

**Looking up from the window I met Duo’s eye in the mirror. “Very well. Turn right.”**

 

**“Gotcha.” Grinning cheerfully Duo turned right and headed back down the street that would take us out of the neighborhood and to a lane that I was sure would take us up to the mountain. He turned left again as I instructed him next, pulling the car around into a dark lane that to our surprise, ended at a cliff before turning sharply.**

 

**“Duo. Duo I’m not sure you can make that.”**

 

**“It’s a road isn’t it?”**

 

**I felt the car shift and tilt down a bit as we made the turn. I swear I heard Yuy holding his breath. He was definitely as rigid as me.**

 

**“That doesn’t mean no one has-”**

 

**“Duo! You’re not going to make it!”**

 

**“That turn is too sharp! Back up and go-!”**

 

**Quatre fell deadly silent as we all heard the sound of dirt crumbling under the car as rock scraped against the bottom of the car and our wheels. I felt the seats under us shift and then Duo hit the gas, bolting us forward two feet before he slammed the brakes on, bringing us to a stop as he turned to look behind us, checking.**

 

**We were clear of the cliff edge but the closeness of that turn started to sink in as we all sat there in silence. Duo drove the car forward another few feet slowly before once again stopping. This time careful and slow. It felt like we barely moved at all.**

 

**It was Quatre that broke the silence. “So. Should we..leave? Or still try and find that light?”**

 

**If word got around the office that we had turned back at this point, and with Duo present it would, how would we be able to keep face with the rookies? It was just a cliff. “Keep driving.”**

 

**I watched them all turn to look at me in surprise. Duo grinned and took the car out of park. “Alright!”**

 

**With the five of us each throwing in our own input we made it up to the star in no time. Someone had bolted the star to the top of their house. It glowed brightly, making all of us squint from so close. I could hear the electricity humming.**

 

**“That’s quite a bill.”**

 

**“Yeah but living up here. I bet they can afford it.” Leaning on the wheel Duo sat up and grinned back at us. “That was worth it. Just finding this star.”**

 

**I watched him turn to face Heero and turned to look out my own window in the darkness. Duo was the one that had always insisted on Christmas the hardest. And he was right about the star. Perhaps, now that I knew the correct roads to take I could bring Sally.**

 

**“Right Wu Fei?”**

 

**Hearing Duo’s voice I looked up to find them all watching. “What Maxwell?”**

 

**Ignoring that I hadn’t been listening as always, Duo merely repeated himself. “I said we should bring everyone up here. For the star.” Duo grinned, “I bet you’d have a good time with Po.”**

 

**“I wouldn’t let her know you were speaking of her so formally Maxwell.”**

 

**Duo laughed and settled back into his seat. “So, shall we go?”**

 

**As everyone settled back into their seats Duo started down the mountain. I realized that even though every one of them had suggested we get out at the star, none of them had. It was simply too cold. Or perhaps, they had simply been too..awed? by the star’s presence to get out.**

**Which was ridiculous. It was just a light. Right?**

**But then again, for a light..we’d all sat there watching it for a good ten or fifteen minutes.**

**“What!”**

**Startled by Quatre’s voice right next to me, I jumped. Turning in time I heard Barton’s soft reply.**

**“Yes. Someone at HQ told me about it.”**

**“Trowa! You should have told us earlier about this!”**

**“Uh..hey guys. Would you mind cluing me in? Where am I going? Home or what?” Duo was already halfway down the mountain.**

**“Wei in HR told me that Knoll Street has lights too. The whole neighborhood does it in fact.”**

**The car was silent and then Quatre sighed, “You couldn’t have told us that earlier?”**

**“He just told me when I left work.”**

**“Knoll Street huh? I know where that is, I think. Heero, left right?”**

**As Heero nodded, Duo made the turn at the bottom of the mountain. We drove in silence a while before Quatre spoke up. “You know..I think that may be the first time that none of us got lost trying to get down from there.”**

**“Yeah what gives? It only took like-”**

**“30 seconds.”**

**I felt the reality sink in with the others and then nodded as Duo made a suggestion. “Let’s all just pretend that isn’t true. It has to be Christmas luck. Or something.”**

**“Hey, look.” Quatre was pointing ahead.**

**For being a backstreet driver, he was incredibly observant. There were houses ahead more brightly lit than the small few we had found on Leigh Hill.**

**“There’s the turn!” As Duo pulled onto the street Quatre leaned forward to point out the left side of the window. “Hey wait! What’s that sign say?”**

**With no one behind us, Duo backed up. “Welcome to Christmas Lane. We wish you a Merry Christmas. Awesome!”**

**Shifting the car back into gear again, Duo started driving. He paused only when we reached the fork. “Which way..”**

**“There’s another sign! It says to go right so you don’t read things out of order?”**

**“Read?” Heero was sitting up straighter in his seat now.**

**“What kind of light show is this?” Barton was looking out of his window with interest now as well.**

**“It’s a Christmas story.” Feeling all eyes on me I simply pointed. Outside my window on the edge of the street was a giant board painted with the first lines of Twas the Night Before Christmas.**

**“Wow Fei. Good eyes.”**

**“There are numbers! See? We have to read them in order.”**

**“Hey look! Each house is decorated to match the lines they have!”**

**“Heero! Read it!”**

**I don’t doubt Yuy’s devotion, but even I was surprised when Heero started to read. “Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house-”**

**I have to admit, it was actually rather fun. As slow as Duo drove it was hard to keep up with the story with the houses so close together. A lot of the lines were longer than I remembered. But then again..it had been years since I read the story. Years even before the war. That was-**

**“That one is not spelled correctly.”**

**I felt Heero pause in his reading as the car stopped. There was silence and then Duo and Quatre started laughing. “Leave it to Fei!”**

**“…It is.” So I noticed things.**

**“Do you want a pen?”**

**“We could all sign it. Corrected by the Gundam pilots!”**

**“Duo..”**

**Heero put a calming hand on his lover and I gave him a grateful nod briefly. It wasn’t that funny.**

**“Alright! On to the next house!”**

**As we drove the decorations got more and more elaborate. We were nearing the end of the story when Duo once again, started laughing. With the answer on the left I was unable to see. “That is so funny! Look you guys! Look!”**

**With both Trowa and Quatre bent over to see, I was able to lean left enough to see what was making Duo laugh so hard.**

**It was Santa’s laundry.**

**Apparently some tenants had not taken the lines to the story literally. Strung up on a string of lights, Santa’s clothes, including his hat, were all hung up to dry. Cutting the engine Duo unbuckled and got out, stepping into the snow. “I’ve got to take a picture to show Sally!”**

**“Duo wait. It’s late. They might not want anyone in their yard..”**

**“Those decorations are here for us to see. I’m complimenting.” Without another word Duo vanished into the yard, stepping lightly. It was so dark that I lost sight of him as he left the street.**

**Quatre sat back in his seat and sighed, “Do you think he’ll be able to even see? It’s so dark.”**

**I heard the car door scrape before Duo had pulled it open and stepped back into the car. “Got it!” Passing his phone back to Quatre he grinned, “See?”**

**“That is a good shot Duo.”**

**Buckling back into his seat Duo grinned, “Okay Heero. Keep reading.”**

**We made it through the rest of the story without anyone getting out again.**

**“And to all a good night.”**

**“Haha! Heero you should say it more jolly!”**

**“…”**

**“Look! There’s the exit!” Duo grinned as he drove past a sign thanking us for coming to Christmas Lane, that also requested we come back next year. “Hey you guys! Should we come back again?”**

**“I’d like to.”**

**“Wei said they do a different story every year.”**

**“Wow! Really? I hope they do The Grinch!”**

**“Apparently they did that one last year.”**

**“Did you have fun Fei?” Looking up at the driver’s mirror I nodded to Duo, “It was quite the collaboration Maxwell.”**

**I watched him laugh, “I guess that’s a yes then.”**

**As we turned out of the neighborhood I pulled the papers I had found out of my pocket. I waited to address the owners until we were back at Trowa and Quatre’s house. I didn’t need to give Maxwell any more distractions.**

**“Quatre?” Standing in the driveway I watched as Winner turned to look at me, the others also watching, curious. Handing the papers back over to Quatre I watched his face carefully. “I found these tucked into my seat.”**

**To give him credit, there was not a hint of anything on Quatre’s face as he tucked the receipts into his jacket pocket. “Thank you Wu Fei. I was wondering about these.”**

**“I am glad I could be of assistance. I am wondering, why you purchased a map for St. George only to return it almost immediately. On the same day that you picked up Cathy.”**

**I heard Duo’s whisper to Heero but kept my eyes on Quatre, “Busted…”**

**“Well you see Wu Fei-”**

**“I will be calling the city in the morning.” Stepping past them all I headed back into the house, hiding the smile from my friends that I knew was coming.**

**I heard Quatre sigh as Duo laughed, “You just can’t slip anything past Wu Fei.”**

**“That’s right..”**

**“But the important thing is to try!”**

**Pausing at the door I looked back at all of them. My greatest friends, allies and family, “Are you four coming?”**

**Duo and Quatre shared a grin before they came after me, Trowa and Heero following. They all smiled as they went in. Even Heero. Those little gestures of kindness made me think of another Christmas and how much things had changed since our first meeting. I never would have considered their place as friends in my future before. Their presence now made me oddly grateful for things I had never considered before. Like the end of the second war, and the colonies-**

**“Come on Fei Fei!” Duo gestured from where he was holding the door open, as if I had not been the one waiting.**

**“Maxwell! How many times have I asked you not to-” He ducked before I could reach him, running off with a laugh and leaving the door wide open to the new snow that was falling.**

**Closing the door I smiled at the sound of Duo running away. Yes, I have the greatest friends.**

**“Maxwell!”**

**“Heero! Save me!”**

**“You brought this on yourself.”**

**I just can’t tell.**


End file.
